The official blog of Laura-Rose Saunders, 28-year-old Graduate of Russian Studies from University College London, currently 33rd best Tory Blogger, former Website and Publicity Officer for UCL Conservatives and Website and Publicity Officer for UCLU ChocSoc.

Sunday, 10 June 2012

Last week was my last week of term and of the year, it was also the last week that I shall be a student at UCL. After 6 years of studying for my BA (hons) and my MA (hons) I will not be returning in September. However, I am not totally free of University and study quite yet. I still have the mighty dissertation to conquer. At present all that stands between me becoming Laura-Rose Saunders BA (Hons) MA (Hons) is 10,000 words on childhood in Post-Soviet Russian Cinema.

While I have done most of the research, have all the ideas and a plan I still need to do the writing part. Sadly this means that there will be less time for me to devote to my blog. *snif* I can still be found blogging over at Voices where I write my weekly column entitled 'Weekly Round Up and Story of the Week.' I will be posting here sporadically, but normal blogging will not resume until after I have completed my dissertation.

Saturday, 9 June 2012

‘Hardcore Monarchist’ is not a title I would usually give myself, but
after spending well over 8 hours in the cold and the wet beside the
Thames waiting to see Her Royal Highness I feel this may be a title that
now applies. Don’t get me wrong before this weekend I was proud to be
British; I know the words to our National Anthem, I support England
(however misguidedly) in the football, I happily watch other Royal
events such as last year’s Royal Wedding, but I could never say that I
had camped out in order to see the Queen.

The day began with a 4am start in order to be all sorted and ready to
secure a great spot. Having checked the weather forecast the night
before my friends and I knew full well that the British weather was not
going to let us down and that layers and supplies would be needed in
order to make the wait a little more enjoyable.

We arrived at the Thames a little before 6 am and were some of the
first people there. After initially trying to see if we could get a
space on Lambeth or Westminster Bridge we resolved that the next best
thing was a riverside place opposite the Houses of Parliament. Luckily
we also managed to find a spot that still had a free bench near it,
something that came in very handy later on in the day once the tiredness
began to set in. Being near to Parliament also meant that we had a
direct view of Big Ben which worked out as a brilliant way to countdown
to the start of the flotilla.

As the day continued more and more people steadily made their way to
the Thames to find a space from which to view the River Pageant. Despite
the off and on rain and the chilling wind there was a sense of
excitement in the air. A feeling that this was no other miserable, grey
day in London, but that something important was about to begin.

Time passed steadily and after marvelling at the view had worn off it
was time to embark on what turned out to be possibly the longest game
of ‘I spy’ I have ever played. My friends and I even managed to get some
of the middle aged people from the group next to us joining in. It is
also surprising just how many things really do begin with ‘B’ when you
are stood by the river. There were also big screen at certain points
along the Thames showing a montage of scenes from the Queen’s reign to
keep us entertained and remind us of why we were here.

Throughout the day boats could be seen heading west along the Thames
to the start point and people covered in Union Jack flags joined the
expectant throngs lining the banks. Some of the spectators even managed
to get a few hearty renditions of ‘God Save the Queen’, ‘Jerusalem’ and
‘The Lambeth Walk’ going before Big Ben struck two and it was almost
time for the flotilla to set off.

From our spot we had to wait almost another hour before the first
boats reached us, but when they did the crowd went wild. The flotilla
began with a procession of smaller boats displaying the flags of the
Commonwealth being sailed by people from every age group. These were
intermixed with larger vessels carrying orchestras and one playing a
peel of bells, which had been specially commissioned for the Jubilee.
Then the moment came and Her Royal Highness sailed past on the Royal
Barge. Every flag in the crowd was waved manically, cameras flashed and a
triumphant chorus of ‘God Save the Queen’ rang out. It was the moment
we had waited over 8 hours for – the Queen was less than 150 meters away
and was waving back at us.

The Pageant continued on with more and more boats lining the Thames,
but as the narrow boats began to emerge from under Lambeth Bridge the
heavens opened and the rain poured down. At times it rained so hard it
was almost impossible to see the rest of the flotilla. It was at this
point that I realised that I was totally soaked through and frozen to
the core. Upon eventually arriving home it took a rather strong vodka
hot chocolate, a very warm blanket and pizza to warm me up.

The weather was the only bad part of the day. The start may have been
early and the wait in the rain long, but being able to stand right at
the front and see the whole thing was priceless. This weekend has shown
that despite the weather no one quite does patriotism like the British.
It is estimated that over a million people braved the cold to see the
River Pageant and wave at the Queen as she celebrated being on the
throne for 60 years, as our anthem so correctly states ‘long to reign
over us, God save the Queen.’

Monday, 4 June 2012

Today Voices of the 7 Billion officially relaunches after Wordpress deleted all of our posts. We have a new design and are looking for people to contribute! We have now added some new sections on Art and Culture, Sport and Fashion. Luckily we have been able to recover a few of our previous posts which are in the process of being uploaded to an archive website.If you are interested in contributing to our newly launched site then get in touch! Are aim is to give a platform for people to express their views and have an opportunity to blog. If you would like some guidance with your articles then we are more than willing to help you out. We hope that you enjoy our newly launched site. :)

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The opinions expressed on my blog are mine unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from messaging me either on Facebook or by email to tell me that you do not like my blog or that you do not agree with my opinions as I really do not care. Messages of such a nature will be met with a sarcastic or condosencing responce in either Russian or English depending on my mood. Please do not waste mine or your time, but put it to a better use.